The sound of wooden wagon wheels crushing gravel and dry branches echoed along the dirt road. Reddish-brown dust billowed into the sweltering afternoon air.
It was the third day since the 'staged' brawl in the middle of the Verdant Territory's Free Market. That incident had ended with Lloyd resourcefully ordering the newly hired adventurers to detain the troublemakers and exile them from the territory without shedding a single drop of blood, completely shattering Baron Reinhardt's plan to frame him for murdering civilians.
But that didn't mean peace had returned.
"Lord Baron Lloyd... I still can't help but get goosebumps when I think about what happened three days ago."
Marcus Gray, the middle-aged merchant, wiped the sweat from his forehead as he held the horse's reins. His wagon, fully loaded with wild herbs and processed timber, was heading out of the Verdant Territory back to the main trade route.
"If you had ordered your guard to strike down those staged thugs that day, your territory would have been branded a savage land by now, and all the merchants would have fled." Marcus spoke with a tone of admiration tinged with lingering fear. "Your intellect is truly profound, my lord."
Lloyd, sitting on a pile of supply sacks in the back of the wagon, offered a faint smile. He was still wearing his old noble cloak to keep the dust off. In his field of vision, his mana bar displayed 65/100, which was well within the safe zone.
"In the board game of politics, if the enemy throws you an aggravating bait... not taking the bait is the most painful counterattack, Sir Marcus," Lloyd replied evenly.
"But do you truly believe Baron Reinhardt will just give up after that, my lord?"
Lloyd narrowed his eyes, peering through the dust at the dense forest lining both sides of the road. "No way. A power-hungry man who just lost face will inevitably find a dirtier way to get his revenge... That is exactly why I had to personally deploy our 'best units' to escort your caravan."
Lloyd gestured toward the front and the canopy above the convoy.
At the head of the caravan, Frank, the giant youth in light leather armor, was marching steadily ahead of the draft horses. The shaft of his newly forged trident gleamed in the sunlight. His broad back looked like a moving fortress.
And looking up at the high branches flanking the road, the slender figure of Sylvie Evergreen was leaping nimbly and silently from branch to branch like a shadow. Taking advantage of the high ground, the elf girl was acting as the 'Scout' for the caravan.
"Having a sniper constantly checking the map like this definitely brings peace of mind," Lloyd let slip a quiet gamer joke.
However, amidst the tranquility of the forest path, Sylvie's long pointed ears suddenly twitched!
The elf froze on a large oak branch. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she sensed an anomaly. The scent of cold steel and a faint killing intent drifted in on the hot wind.
"Halt the caravan!"
Sylvie's command echoed out. She dropped from the branch, landing feather-light on the roof of Marcus's wagon. Her ancient wooden bow was drawn and an arrow nocked in a fraction of a second.
Frank, walking at the front, stopped dead in his tracks. He slammed the butt of his trident into the dirt, whipping his head around with his survival instincts dialed to the maximum.
"What is it, Sylvie?!" Frank shouted.
"The smell of dull iron and sour sweat..." Sylvie smirked, her eyes showing no fear, only the thrill of a hunter. "We have uninvited guests waiting to ambush us up ahead. Probably around twenty of them, hiding in the bushes on the left and right."
Marcus turned pale. "T-Twenty men! Bandit ambushers?!"
Lloyd immediately stood up on the wagon. A sharp pang hit his head as he focused his mind on the empty space.
"System... activate [Mini-Map] , one-hundred-meter radius."
Ding!
[Mana Remaining: 55/100]
On the semi-transparent holographic screen, twenty-two red dots blinked rapidly, flanking Marcus's convoy in a horseshoe formation. They were ambushing from behind rocks and dense bushes up ahead—the exact 'chokepoint' of the route.
"This is a textbook ambush script. You're trying to cut off my Supply Line by brute force, aren't you..." Lloyd gritted his teeth.
Baron Reinhardt wasn't wasting any more time. When destroying the market's reputation failed, he opted for the most barbaric method: sending men disguised as bandits to murder merchants and loot all their goods, aiming to sever the Verdant Territory's economic jugular.
"Frank! Sylvie!" Lloyd barked out a decisive command. "Prepare for combat!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
As soon as Lloyd's command fell, a dozen iron-tipped arrows tore through the air from the bushes on both sides, aiming mercilessly straight for the draft horses and Marcus Gray himself!
"Steel Bulwark!"
Frank roared. The giant youth stomped his foot hard onto the ground. His SSR-Rank hidden talent activated in a flash. A brilliant golden light erupted around him and expanded to cover a ten-meter radius, shielding the entire convoy and the horses!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bandits' arrows struck the golden wall of light and fell to the ground as if they had hit thick steel plates. The 300% defense boost rendered ordinary long-range sneak attacks completely useless.
"Damn it! Defensive magic?! Charge in and hack them to pieces!"
A fierce shout echoed from behind the rocks before a group of burly men in ragged tunics—looking like common bandits—burst from their hiding spots. Their hands gripped longswords and battle axes that looked far too expensive to be standard bandit weaponry.
Lloyd swept his eyes over their movements via the [Mini-Map] .
"Their footwork, their phalanx formation... they aren't charging haphazardly. They've split into an assault squad and a vanguard." Lloyd assessed the situation in a split second. "These aren't bandits; they're well-trained rogue mercenaries!"
"My Lord! I'll hold them off at the front!" Frank shouted. He tightened his grip on the trident and stepped forward to block the dirt road alone. His broad back was like an impenetrable mountain.
"Don't be careless, Frank! They have heavy weapons!" Lloyd commanded. "System... activate [Micro-Management] !"
Ding!
[Mana Remaining: 40/100]
Threads of blue light, invisible to the naked eye, shot out from the system screen, instantly connecting to Frank and Sylvie. Lloyd's field of vision expanded, intimately perceiving the breathing rhythms and muscle twitches of his two units.
"Sylvie! Ten o'clock, on the rocks! Three of them are loading crossbows!" Lloyd issued the command directly into the elf's auditory nerves via the system.
Standing on the wagon's roof, Sylvie smirked. "Understood, Commander!"
The [Forest Spirit Archer SR] talent was fully activated! The mana in the elf's body surged to her fingertips, coating the feathered wooden arrows in an intense emerald glow.
She didn't draw the string and take time to aim. Instead, Sylvie used 'Rapid Fire,' pulling arrows from her quiver and releasing the bowstring three consecutive times in less than two seconds!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The mana-infused arrows tore through the air with a 200% speed increase, hitting harder than bullets! The most terrifying part was that the arrows didn't fly in a straight line; they 'curved,' bypassing the large tree trunks the bandits were using as cover!
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Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Arghhhh!"
Howls of agony rang out. The three crossbowmen on the rocks were pierced through their shoulders and chests, tumbling to the ground with pinpoint precision!
"She can shoot curved arrows?! What kind of monster is that elf?!" The bandit leader, running at the front, cursed loudly.
But there was no time to be stunned, because Frank had already charged right into their midst!
"Come get some, you backstabbing dogs!" Frank roared. He swung the tip of his trident in a wide arc, smashing into four of the vanguard bandits.
BAM!
With Frank's strength stat exceeding 150 points, combined with the weight of his weapon, it was an impact that no ordinary human could withstand. Two bandits who raised their swords to block the attack had their blades shattered completely. Their bodies flew backward, crashing into trees until they coughed up blood.
"This kid has the strength of an ox! Surround him! Use spears and thrust from a distance!" The bandit leader barked tactical orders, betraying his background as a professional soldier.
Six bandits spread out in a semi-circle, surrounding Frank. They took turns thrusting their long spears in a rhythmic pattern, forcing Frank purely onto the defensive. The golden light of [Steel Bulwark] flashed brilliantly, absorbing countless spear tips.
"Frank! Step back two paces to the right! Kite them together!" Lloyd commanded through [Micro-Management] .
Frank followed the instinct connected to Lloyd. He stepped back to the right with exact precision. The bandits, thinking they had the upper hand, hurriedly moved in to tighten the encirclement.
"Sylvie! The opening is there!" Lloyd shouted.
Sylvie, who had been hopping through the branches above, was waiting for this exact moment. She drew her bowstring to its limit, emerald mana condensing at the arrowhead until it glowed blindingly bright.
"Have a souvenir from the sacred forest!"
Sylvie released the bowstring. The arrow plummeted from the high angle, but just before hitting its target, it 'splintered' into dozens of tiny mana arrows, raining down on the clustered bandits like a storm!
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
"Arghhhh!"
Agonizing screams echoed throughout the area. The shower of emerald mana arrows accurately pierced through the leather armor and legs of the bunched-up bandits.
Even though these splintered arrows lacked the lethal power to pierce hearts, Sylvie's Area of Effect (AoE) attack inflicted enough wounds and pain to break their rhythm. Their well-organized vanguard formation completely collapsed. Several bandits dropped to the floor, clutching their mana-scorched wounds that burned like actual fire.
"Mass CC (Crowd Control) skill executed perfectly!" Lloyd grunted out a smile through the searing pain in his head. "Now's the time, Frank! Wipe them out!"
"Understood!"
Frank roared in response to the command echoing in his nerves. The giant youth didn't let the golden opportunity slip by. He lunged forward with a speed that defied his massive frame, swinging his trident in a wide arc with limit-breaking strength.
Wham! Smash! Ugh!
Three bandits who had just managed to stand up were slammed in the torso by the trident's shaft. Their bodies were sent flying into the trees along the road, knocked out cold instantly. The synergy between a 'Tank' and 'Ranged DPS' under Lloyd's [Micro-Management] made the Verdant Territory's tiny squad as effective as an army of hundreds!
"I-Insane! These aren't barbaric peasant farmers!" The bandit leader turned deathly pale. His earlier fierce gaze morphed into sheer terror.
Seeing more than half his men groveling and moaning on the ground, the bandit leader knew immediately that the ambush had failed miserably. He decided to abandon his wounded subordinates, spun on his heel, and sprinted away at top speed, hoping to use his familiarity with the terrain to escape into the dense woods.
"The boss is trying to flee! Sylvie, intercept him!" Lloyd ordered instantly.
"No one escapes my sight!"
Sylvie smirked atop the wagon. She pulled the last feathered wooden arrow from her quiver, drawing the string swiftly without needing a long aim. Emerald mana flowed into the arrowhead once again.
Swish!
The arrow tore through the air at high speed. It wasn't aimed at a vital organ, but zeroed in on a moving target with absolute precision.
Thwack!
"Gaaaah!"
The bandit leader tripped and face-planted into the dirt. Sylvie's arrow had squarely pierced his right ankle. The momentum of the shot caused him to lose his footing and tumble through the dust several times. He moaned in pain, entirely unable to get back up and run.
"Game over," Lloyd muttered.
The former world champion closed his eyes before deactivating the system.
[Alert: Micro-Management Disconnected]
[Mana Remaining: 15/100 - Warning: Body entering a state of accumulated fatigue]
The instant the blue threads snapped, an agonizing ache surged through the young Baron's body. Lloyd staggered back two steps, his knees buckling to the point where he almost collapsed onto the wagon floor. Cold sweat washed over his face, now as pale as a sheet of paper.
"Lord Baron Lloyd! Watch out!" Marcus Gray, who had been hiding behind the supply sacks, rushed forward to catch the young man just in time.
The middle-aged merchant looked at Lloyd with eyes full of reverence and awe. "Are you alright, my lord?! What just happened... that was the most miraculous battlefield command I have ever seen in my life! How could you see all of the enemy's movements?!"
"I... I'm fine, Sir Marcus." Lloyd forced a smile, taking a deep breath to pull oxygen into his lungs. "Just... over-processed my brain a bit. As long as you are safe, that's what matters."
Before them, the battle had concluded flawlessly.
Frank used the hemp rope he brought along to bind the surviving, unconscious bandits hand and foot, piling them up in the middle of the dirt road. Meanwhile, Sylvie jumped down from the wagon's roof. Whistling cheerfully, she marched over, grabbed the wounded bandit leader by the collar, and dragged him over to dump him at Lloyd's feet.
"Brought the boss to you, Commander," Sylvie grinned provocatively. "What next? Should I torture him for fun to extract his secrets, or have Frank stomp his head flat into the ground?"
"P-Please don't kill me! I yield! I surrender!" The bandit leader shrieked, his scar-covered face contorting with terror upon seeing the elf girl's smile.
With Marcus's help, Lloyd slowly propped himself up. He stepped down from the wagon and approached the bandit leader with icy composure. His deep blue eyes stared piercingly into the trembling gaze of his captive.
"I won't kill you if you answer my questions honestly," Lloyd stated in a flat tone that somehow carried a suffocating pressure. "Who sent you to ambush the Verdant Territory's caravan?"
The bandit leader swallowed hard, sweating profusely. "I-I don't know! I swear to the God of Light, I truly don't know, my lord!"
Bam!
Frank kicked him hard in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. "Liar! You deliberately targeted our caravan specifically! How could you not know who hired you?!"
"I'm telling the truth!" The bandit leader stammered, gasping for air. "We're just freelance mercenaries wandering the borders. Two days ago, a cloaked 'middleman' came to see me at an illegal tavern... He tossed a massive bag of coins to us, gave us the route and the exact time your caravan would pass by. He hired us to kill everyone and burn all the goods to ash!"
Lloyd frowned. "A middleman? What did he look like? Did he have any family crests or emblems on him?"
"None at all, my lord! No crests whatsoever," the leader forced an answer. "He covered his face completely. I only remember that his accent... was the accent of the nobles from the Capital... And these weapons, he was the one who provided them to us in advance."
Lloyd walked over and picked up one of the bandits' dropped swords from the ground to inspect it.
The weight, the sharpness, and the balance of the steel... these were not weapons that mere bandits could buy. It was a blade forged by a master artisan. Noticeably, however, the base of the blade where the military forge's 'stamp' should be had been ground completely smooth by a whetstone. There was not a single trace left to track it back to its source.
"Grinding off the maker's mark, hiring through a middleman in the shadows, and using rogue mercenaries disguised as bandits..." Lloyd muttered to himself, tossing the sword back onto the dirt. "Just what I'd expect from a control freak. He works meticulously and leaves no traces."
Marcus Gray clenched his fists. "Baron Reinhardt! It has to be him, Lord Lloyd! He wants to bleed our trade route dry!"
"I know, Sir Marcus. I know exactly who is behind this." Lloyd let out a long sigh, his temples still throbbing.
Deep down, the former world champion knew well that this attack pattern was a 'False Flag Operation.' It was a classic tactic for players who wanted to cripple an enemy's economy without getting penalized by the system. Baron Reinhardt didn't just want the goods; he wanted to send a threatening message to all merchants: 'The Verdant Territory is not safe.'
Sylvie exhaled sharply in frustration. "Since we know who did it, why don't we drag this bandit to the Empire's court and expose him? Make him confess that he was hired!"
"It's not that simple, Sylvie." Lloyd shook his head, his eyes heavy with concern. "The testimony of a bandit with no circumstantial evidence, who can't even identify his employer... the Veltyne noble courts will never entertain it."
The young Baron walked over to lean against Marcus's wagon. His exhausted brain tried to process the best way out, but every path was dead-ended by the legal and political constraints of this world.
If he paraded this group of bandits before the public or announced to the Empire's Trade Guilds that Baron Reinhardt sent men to rob merchants... what would follow is a 'counter-lawsuit'.
Baron Reinhardt would immediately claim that Lloyd Weston fabricated evidence and used bandits to slander a high-ranking noble. Under Veltyne Empire law, the penalty for defaming a regional ruling noble without concrete proof was the stripping of one's title and the confiscation of all lands!
It would be walking right into the perfectly dug trap that Baron Reinhardt had laid out for him!
But on the other hand...
If he chose to keep this a secret, letting the bandits disappear quietly to accumulate evidence and track down the middleman first... it would leave an opening for Baron Reinhardt to grow bolder.
The enemy would know Lloyd didn't dare make a fuss. He would send a second group of bandits, a third group, to relentlessly ambush their new trade routes. The merchants trickling in would start getting murdered one by one, with no one on the continent knowing the true culprit. Rumors of unsafety would spread, and the newly blooming economy of the Verdant Territory would slowly wither and die.
"Should I play a risky piece and expose my hand, with the Empire's laws acting as a knife at my throat..."
Lloyd closed his eyes, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The headache from his intense concentration and low mana state made it difficult to even stand.
"...Or do I take a step back, swallow this secret, and let my own land become a sitting duck for the next wave of attacks?"
Marcus, Frank, and Sylvie stood in dead silence, watching their lord sink into the deepest depths of thought. No one dared to make a sound to interrupt him, for they all knew well that the young Baron's decision in this very second... would dictate the future trajectory of the entire Verdant Territory.
The political game in this world was more cruel and merciless than a battlefield of mutant wolves.
And Lloyd Weston, the man who used to control everything seamlessly on a computer screen, was now profoundly realizing... that being a Lord in real life, making decisions gambled with people's lives, carried an unimaginably crushing weight!
(End of Chapter 12)